Final Fantasy VII: The Parallel Reality
by The Karnstein
Summary: A novelization of Final Fantasy VII where all of the characters have switched genders. All of the male characters are now women, and all of the female characters are now men.
1. PROLOGUE

**Final Fantasy VII: The Parallel Reality**

_**Author's Note: **__This is a novelization of the original Playstation 1 game of Final Fantasy VII if the characters' genders had been switched. In this story, all of the male characters are now female, and all of the female characters are male. There will be minor changes to the character's stories and names when appropriate, but for the most part, the plot will remained unchanged._

_I wanted to do this story to see how much of an impact it would have on the fans of the original game, if any at all. Would they still love the game if it consisted of predominantly female characters? Would they still love the characters if they were physically different but still the same inside? Will they still find the story compelling and exciting and the characters relatable and deep despite these changes? I hope you will leave me feedback, suggestions, and other comments in the reviews. _

_At it's core, Final Fantasy VII is a wonderful game filled with wonderful characters, and I think these characters would still be every bit as memorable and beloved despite what gender they were assigned._

* * *

**Prologue**

It was quiet now. They were hot on his tracks a second ago but the footsteps and shouting were drowned out by the traffic and noise of the slums. He knew better than to relax just yet. Rather than wander out into the open again, he stayed hidden in the shadows of the alley and warmed up next to a small Mako furnace. Green embers danced around him as he drew near, revealing the face of a young man with fair skin, some stubble where his beard and moustache were growing back, and bright green eyes. In his hand was a basket of white and yellow flowers and on his back was a long metal rod. Weapons were hard to come by with his income but thankfully he had saved up enough to buy it. He put the basket on the ground and tied his long brown hair back into a braid before moving his hands close to the warmth of the furnace.

This was the first time they were able to find him in a good long while. In the past he stood out like a sore thumb. Apparently pink clothing wasn't a popular or common fashion trend among men in Midgar, and the Turks could spot him a mile away. He still liked the color enough to wear pink shirts but took the liberty of wearing a brown leather jacket over it, just in case. That usually kept him out of sight, but he still had to take his chances on the street. The slums weren't exactly a place for good business and when the only source of income you have is selling flowers for 1 gil, he had to do what he could. It put food on the table for he and his dad and that was worth it in the end.

When he was absolutely certain the cost was clear, he picked up the basket and stepped into the open. His head turned from side to side, scanning the faces of every person who passed him. Not a Turk in sight, and the Shinra guards seemed to be elsewhere. It was time to get back to work.

At the edge of the Sector 1 slums stood the Sector 1 Mako Reactor. The sound of the train pulling closer to the station told the guards on duty that the night shift was about to start. New guards would exit the train and relieve them of their duty. The two at the station were already adjusting the buttons on their red coats and removing their matching helmets. After a long day of work, the train ride home was a good opportunity to get a quick hour or two of sleep.

But when the train finally pulled into the station, they already knew something was wrong. Unfortunately for them, it was too late to do anything. Before the first guard knew what hit him, a woman leapt from the top of the train and brought her elbow down onto his shoulder. He barely had time to scream in pain or shock before she threw him over her shoulder and drove his head into the pavement. It did not take long for the second guard to shake off the initial shock of his partner being taken down. He was already making his way toward the attacker before he was stopped by a young man, who upon exiting the train had kicked him directly in the chin. The force of the kick was strong enough to render him unconscious before he hit the floor.

"Come on!" the first woman shouted before turning and running.

The man came rushing behind her without a second thought and was followed by a third woman who was just now exiting the train. Behind her was a fourth woman, who was clearly the leader. Unlike Biggs, the short little scrapper with the choppy brown hair, or Wedge, the chubby and heavier brawler with the red bandana, Barrette was physically stronger and capable than both of them. Her skin was a very dark brown and her black hair was cut into a hi-top fade, leaving the rest of her head bald. She was taller than the others with strong, muscular legs and large arms. Upon exiting the train, her hand moved to her right arm, which was artificial and attached with a large gatling gun that she called her "gun arm."

"C'mon, newcomer." she spat without even looking behind her. She loaded her gun arm and looked straight ahead of her. "Follow me."

Without a word, she rushed towards the reactor. From the top of the roof jumped the final member of Barette's team. She landed just in time to be met with the sound of alarms blaring from every direction. It didn't take long for reinforcements to show up, though how they possibly got pass Barette or her team was beyond her understanding.

"Stop right there!" a young man in blue armor took aim with his machine gun. His partner fell in line beside him, also taking aim.

"Who are you?" the second one screamed. "Identify yourself!"

Some things just never made all that much sense to her. Did they not see the impossibly large sword on her back? Did they just not care? In a word where her sword was every bit as capable against machine guns, where they just underestimating her? Did they think that because they were Shinra soldiers that they were truly untouchable?

She lifted her head and the soldiers saw the face of a beautiful yet slightly androgynous woman. But it wasn't her loveliness that struck them, nor was it her short, spiky blonde hair, or even the way her strong arms were able to carry that sword.

It was her blue eyes. _They were glowing._

"...M-Mako infused... eyes?" the first guard almost dropped his gun on the spot. The second was shaking his head in disbelief.

"B-But that would make you a..."

"SOLDIER." she chuckled. "Ex-SOLDIER, actually."

And with that, she rushed at them, swinging her large sword effortlessly and bringing it down on the first soldier. He fell to the ground in pieces and his partner was met with a kick to the stomach. The woman twisted her body, swinging the sword with all of her strength and cutting the second man in half. When she landed, she swung her sword over her head before sheathing it onto her back.

_"My name is Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER First Class."_


	2. Chapter One: The Bombing Mission

**Final Fantasy VII: The Parallel Reality**

**Chapter One: The Bombing Mission**

With the two guards out of the way, Cloud rushed ahead to find her team gathered around an armored door. Biggs and Wedge were standing guard over Jessie, who appeared to be hotwiring his way into the reactor. Although this was her first actual mission as a mercenary, Cloud's entire demeanor said otherwise. For all they knew, this was just another day on a job she had done a thousand times before. It was a good enough front for her; breaking into a Mako reactor with a group of terrorists was something that could have shaken anybody. By the end of the night, the reactor was going up in flames. She would be a key element to bringing it down, and she didn't give herself time to feel remorse of hesistation for it. All she could think of was her paycheck.

"Wow!" her thoughts were interrupted by Biggs. Although she probably wasn't much older than Cloud, she suddenly looked too young to be on a bombing mission. Cloud chalked it up to the very innocent (or immature) look one gets when they've witnessed something exciting. "You used to be in SOLDIER all right! Not every day you find one in a group like AVALANCHE!"

Before she could even reply, she noticed that Jessie had stopped his work to look at her. "SOLDIER? Aren't they the enemy?" It wasn't a challenge, but wasn't entirely welcoming either. "What is she doing with us in AVALANCHE?"

"Cut her some slack, Jessie. She _was _in SOLDIER." Biggs interjected. "She quit them, now she's with us! By the way," she ran her hand through her hair before turning back to Cloud. "I didn't catch your name."

Cloud didn't want to admit it, but honestly she thought it was nice. Being admired wasn't something she was used to. Maybe it would be better to just play it up as such. Without smiling or showing any real indication of fondness, she glanced back at Biggs.

"Cloud," she replied.

"Cloud, huh? I'm-"

Before Biggs could finish her sentence, she was stopped by Cloud lifting her hand. "I'm sorry, but I don't care what your names are. Once the job is over with, I'm out of here."

She watched as all of the happiness left Biggs face. Jessie flinched slightly, but said nothing as he continued working on the door. When Cloud glanced to the side she noticed that Wedge was avoiding any sort of eye contact and was visibly nervous. Strange, really. She imagined that the heavy set brawler would have had a little more guts than that. Would this team really have what it took to follow through with a bombing mission?

Her question was answered almost immediately when she heard footsteps approaching. Cloud's defenses went up and she twisted her body quickly, expecting an on-coming attack. Instead, what she got was Barrette.

"The hell you all doin'!?" she snapped, causing Wedge and Biggs to jump. "I told you to never move in a group! Why ain't that damn door open!?"

"Workin' on it," was Jessie's response. He was the only one unphased by Barrette's temper. Immediately Cloud favored him over the others.

"Our target's the North Mako Reactor. We'll meet on the bridge infront of it." no sooner did Barrette finish her sentence, Jessie hopped up from where he was kneeling.

The large, metal door vibrated for a moment before opening up. Cloud watched a grin split across Barrette's face as the other three rushed ahead without another order. Maybe they did have what it took. Their leader certainly had enough guts to go around. She followed after them, but stopped after a few meters before looking over her shoulder at Cloud. From the very beginning, Barrette had never trusted her. Cloud couldn't hold it against her for being suspicious, but if she was sizing her up, she was going to be full of surprises.

"Ex-SOLDIER, huh? Don't trust ya." she lifted up her gun arm and and pointed it toward the Mako Reactor. "You're stickin' with me, Spikey. Let's go!"

Cloud actually snorted at the nickname, but followed after her nonetheless. With the alarms going off, there was a good possibility that Shinra guards could overrun the place before they even reached the reactor. Thankfully, their location must not have been given away after their first fight at the train station. It would buy them time, but she wasn't sure for how long. They continued through the reactor, rushing deep into the depths of the factory before making it to the bridge.

While Biggs, Jessie and Barrette made a right and rushed deeper into the factory, Wedge kept rushing straight ahead. Cloud lingered back for a moment to make sure she wasn't abandoning the group. When she saw that Wedge stopped infront of another door and appeared to be hacking into it, she relaxed. Naturally, Shinra would have made the gates and doors lock down during an emergency. When they set the bomb, it would be up to Wedge to have the door opened when they returned. With this in mind, Cloud followed after the others and left the woman to her work.

When she rejoined with the others, she saw that Biggs and Jessie were back to work on another locked door. Barrette was lingering over them, quietly running down a list of numbers. Rather than hacking into the system, they were providing actual passcodes into the door. Someone must have either paid off a Shinra employee, or Barrette was more intimidating than Cloud could ever give her credit for. When the door was open, Biggs and Jessie ran ahead to open another one. Barrette lingered back for a moment and turned back to Cloud.

"This your first time in a Reactor?" she spoke as she walked and Cloud sped up to meet her pace.

"No," she shook her head. "After all, I did work for Shinra, you know." she noticed the sneer on Barrette's face immediately, but decided not to comment on it. They approached the second door and saw Jessie reading off another set of numbers to Biggs. The door opened up in moments.

"The planet's full of Mako Energy," Barrette said as she and Cloud continued into the reactor. "People in this city use it everyday, but it's the life blood of this Planet! And Shinra keeps suckin' the blood out with these strange machines!"

Cloud shrugged her shoulders before unsheathing her sword. She didn't know what was ahead of her, but it was better to be prepared. "I'm not here for a lecture. Let's just hurry."

She honestly had to refrain from laughing when she saw the side-eye that Barrette gave her. The resistance leader growled before moving a few paces faster, following after Biggs and Jessie.

Beyond the two doors was an elevator and because of the security system, that too was shut down. Jessie was already quick to work while Biggs lingered back. From this point on, it would be Cloud, Jessie, and Barrette. Biggs would make sure the guards didn't close in on them and Cloud wondered if she would be able to take on the soldiers if they came. Perhaps it would be better to get in and do the job as quickly as possible before they showed up. Something in the pit of her stomach told her that as tough as Biggs was, she could only handle so much. Jessie must have thought the same. A few times he fumbled with the code, seemingly out of nerves, but on the third try, the elevator door opened up. He moved his way inside and Barrette and Cloud followed. Cloud looked back to see Biggs rising her fist into the air, cheering them on as they descended into the reactor.

While this certainly wasn't the first time she was in a reactor, it was the first time she was in one so big. The elevator was taking it's time reaching the bottom level, and it would seem that Barrette wasn't fond of uncomfortable silences on the long ride down.

"Little by little, the reactors will draw out the planet's life, and that'll be that." she muttered, and was once again met by Cloud shaking her head.

"It's not my problem." she replied, and saw the frustration form in Barrette's hard eyes.

"The planet is dyin', Cloud!" she snapped. "That's everybody's problem!"

She had to hand it to her: Barrette at least believed entirely in this cause. All things considered, it wasn't a bad cause to believe in. Nevertheless, Cloud wasn't interested in the dogma of a resistance group. She was a mercenary, and her money and her life were all that mattered in this moment.

"The only thing I care about is finishing this job before security and the Roboguards come out." as she finished her sentence, the elevator came to a slow halt. It was time. "Let's get this over with."

As the door opened up, she moved pass Barrette and Jessie. The elevator took them to a large platform, still many feet above ground level. A staircase would take them the rest of the way to the bottom of the reactor. Without further delay, Cloud proceeded down the stairs and heard Barrette and Jessie following close behind. At the foot of the staircase was another door, but the Shinra company must not have anticipated this level being targeted for terrorist activity. The door was not locked and the three continued into the next room.

"We're almost there," she heard Jessie from behind her. "There's going to be a ladder up ahead. Take it down to the very bottom and you'll be at the core of the reactor."

"We'll take it from here, then." Barrette replied. "You hang back. If we're not back in ten minutes, you get the hell outta here."

"I gotcha, boss." was the response.

Cloud looked over her shoulder to see Jessie handing Barrette a very large piece of metal covered in buttons and wires and she realized it was the bomb. This was the point of no return. When Cloud reached the ladder, it began to sink in that this team was really going to go through with this mission. It was too late to back down, but then again, that was never going to be an option for her. Without a word, she moved onto the ladder and slid down it. She glanced up to see Barrette give a final word of support to Jessie before making her way down as well.

_People are going to die tonight._ she thought to herself as she neared the bottom. _They're going to die because of us. For my paycheck. For the planet. _

As her feet touched the ground, Cloud looked ahead to see the door to the reactor's core. Was this all going to be worth it in the end? Was it right? Was any of this right?

"Don't back out on me now." Barrette's voice interrupted her thoughts. At that, Cloud glared and gripped onto the hilt of her sword.

"Shut up," she muttered before moving ahead. "We've come this far, haven't we?"

"Yeah." Barrette took a breath and followed after her. "When we blow this place, it ain't gonna be no more than a hunka junk." her hand reached out and she moved the bomb over to Cloud. "You do it."

Puzzled, Cloud stopped in her tracks. She looked at the bomb, then back to Barrette's face. " Why? Shouldn't you do it?"

At that, Barrette moved in closer. "Just do it!" she snapped. "I gotta make sure you don't pull nothin'!"

With a look of frustration, Cloud snatched the bomb from her hand and moved into the reactor's core. It was a small room, but the engines and generators were all around her. She would have to set the bomb in the middle of it all and hope that the initial blast would be strong enough to damage the other machines around her. It was all a matter of how dangerous Jessie made this thing. She approached the machine... but something happened.

A shiver shot up her spin and into her skull. There was a sharp ringing in her ear, followed by a sudden headache. Her eyes went large and time seemed to freeze.

_Watch out! This isn't just a reactor!_

Her body tensed, and then began to shake. That voice... it wasn't hers, and yet she knew it... and yet...

"What's wrong?!"

Her stiffness held, but then gave a moment later. Cloud inhaled deeply and realized her grip on her sword had tightened. Whatever happened a second ago had her on the defense. Luckily, Barrette's loud voice made her come to. She looked over to see the woman glaring at her before pointing at the reactor.

"Come on, hurry it up!" she snapped.

Cloud hesitated, but then nodded. Without a moment a lose, she knelt down and attached the bomb to the main generator. The wires moved into place and she pushed down on a few of the buttons. When it was locked in place, she moved away but was greeted by the blaring sounds of sirens. Red lights flashed and from all around them, and Cloud knew exactly what was coming next.

"Heads up! Here they come!"


End file.
